14Synonyms found for spit

Word Origin & History

spit "expel saliva," O.E. spittan (Anglian), spætan (W.Saxon), from PIE *sp(y)eu-, of imitative origin (see spew). Not the usual O.E. word for this; spætlan (see spittle) and spiwan (see spew) are more common. Meaning "to eject saliva (at someone or something) as a gesture of contempt" is in O.E. The noun is attested from c.1300. Meaning "the very likeness" is attested from 1602 (e.g. spitting image, attested from 1901); cf. Fr. craché in same sense. Military phrase spit and polish first recorded 1895. Spitball is from 1846 in the schoolboy sense, 1905 in the baseball sense.